"If the truth gives pain, it is not the fault of the teacher, nor of the reader who hears it for the first time, but of error, which stabs and stings before it will surrender its victim." M.M. Mangasarian

BERLIN (JTA) -- A Jewish organization in Germany is suing the German version of Amazon for hate crimes over the sale of books that it says have banned content.

At issue are some 50 titles that push anti-Semitism, downplay National Socialist crimes and deny the Holocaust, according to the German office of the American Jewish Committee, which filed its suit Friday with the state prosecutor in Munich.

Deidre Berger, AJC's Germany director, said in a public statement that the failure to act against the sale of such material undermined German law. The titles were uncovered during research in July, but an AJC spokesperson said the company has received complaints from private individuals and political leaders for years.